”I don't see what's so bad about this place...” Shining Armor commented and Big Macintosh nodded in agreement. Discord, who was floating ahead of the group turned around so he was facing the unicorn stallion while upside-down.
”Oh, it's not too bad once you get used to all of the poisonous plants littered practically everywhere. The predators here are nothing short of vicious, stubborn pricks though. I'd watch my back if I were you.” Discord shrugged and flipped back so he could see where he was floating. ”Practically everything here can kill you if you give it a dirty look...” Discord chuckled as the rest of the group gulped.
Spike, who was concentrating groaned in frustration. ”It's impossible to pinpoint her location... There's just way too many different sources of magic around here...” Spike rolled his shoulders. ”Seems like we're gonna have to search for her the old-fashioned way.” The drake remembered that he had the 'borrowed' note still on him. ”Almost forgot...” He gave the note to Discord, who raised an eyebrow but continued to read the note.
”This... This is ancient Equestrian, an old draconequi version of it...” Discord felt a cold dread latch onto his heart like a vice. ”That's... Impossible! It has to be a logical explanation for this!” Discord started breathing faster.
”Calm down, tell us what's on that there note.” Big Macintosh spoke in a commanding voice. ”Start wi' translatin' it for th' rest if us.” Mac sat down. Discord took a deep breath and ran a claw through his beard.
”My ancient equestrian is a bit rusty, but I'll give it a shot.” The spirit cleared his throat.
”The time has come for you to stand up to what you did to our glorious race. I will bring justice to the lost, and you will pay with your life due to all the lives you took on your rampage.” Discord paused momentarily while glancing up. ”I needed a way to scare you out from your hiding, so I kidnapped your half-breed daughter right from under your nose. Unless you want her to be harmed, you will come to the Temple of the Matrina, alone...”
”Temple of the... Matrina..?” Shining Armor looked absolutely clueless. ”What the hay is that, and where is it?”
”The Temple of the Matrina is the Temple of the Godmother. The Godmother was believed to be the creator of this world and the universe around us. From her tears she created the seas, from a piece of her own skin she created the landmass. And finally, from a drop of her blood she created life.” Discord shrugged. ”It's kind of like draconequi kindergarden stuff. But this means that we're facing off with another draconequus...”
That made the entire group gulp in unison. Spike bit his lip, eager to think of something else than that slightly horrifying notion. ”Heh... Wonder what the girls are gonna think about this...”
That made everyone in the group think of what their respective wives and close ones would think about them running off to fight a draconequus in an unknown jungle.
Now all of them were completely and utterly horrified of the berating they would recieve once they returned to Canterlot. If they would return, that is...
”Now then, the temple is in the dead center of the jungle and I have no idea if the guardians of the temple left any kind of traps. It's gonna be a blast...” Discord grumbled. The drake and the ponies weren't comfortable with the idea of ancient traps, but the thought of what they were there for boosted their resolve and followed the Spirit of Disharmony into the vast unknown before them.
Celestia groaned and levitated several stacks of papers off her desk momentarily, but sighed and placed them down when she didn't find the note there. ”Where is it...” She muttered. She didn't even look up from her task at hoof as the door opened and her younger sister walked inside.
”What are you searching?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. Celestia stretched her neck to look at her sister and blew a bang out of her face.
”The note we found in Era's room... Twilight Sparkle found a book on ancient languages and she was going to cross-reference it to see if she could find anything of use. But I can't seem to find it anywhere...”
Luna rolled her eyes. ”Sister. Discord, a dragon and a stallion are missing. Those two are also his drinking buddies. It is obvious that Discord borrowed the note before he left...” Luna raised a hoof to her mouth to hide her grin as it dawned on the solar princess. Celestia's eyes narrowed.
”Oh, once I get my hooves on that little...” Celestia gritted her teeth, and Luna placed a comforting hoof on her sister's shoulder.
”Calm yourself, Tia... Remember, I get to talk to him first when he comes back. You can have what's left of him afterward. You also have to reprimand Spike for leaving without your permission, remember?” Luna smiled in an eerily calm manner. Celestia almost felt bad for Discord.
Almost.
”Ugh, I can't believe Spike would leave without telling anyone of us!” Twilight Sparkle threw her arms into the air dramatically. ”Oooh, once I get my hooves on him he'll be sorry...” She sat down.
”Um... I'm also worried about Spike, but I think he-”
”And to top it off, Shining Armor left with Discord as well! I can't believe anyone of them! What can they even hope to accomplish in leaving without us?” Twilight ranted. Fluttershy walked toward her friend and tried to calm her down.
”Twilight, Discord and Shining Armor are grown up... They can take care of Spi-”
”At least Big Macintosh has enough sense in him to know when he's supposed to sit back and take it easy...” Twilight sighed. The rest of the Element of Harmony, sans Applejack watched the situation as it unfolded in complete silence.
Fluttershy had enough of her friend's rambling and walked up to the lavender unicorn and placed her right forehoof to cover Twilight's mouth. Twilight was taken aback, but didn't struggle against it.
”Now you listen to me, Twilight. Shining Armor is the captain of the Royal Guard. That means he can and will defend Spike, as he's almost a big brother to him as you are Spike's sister! Spike is a dragon, for pony's sake! He's growing to become an apex predator. And Discord... Well, we all know how crafty he can be, plus he has his full powers again. Do we really have to worry about them?” Fluttershy huffed.
Complete silence encompassed the room. You could hear a pin drop as everypony stared at the usually shy little pony who currently was trying her best to hide in her mane. ”U-um... If... If it's okay with you... eeep...”
”Well, that sure was... Interesting, to say the least...” Rarity raised an eyebrow. ”But Fluttershy is right. All of them have certain perks and abilities. I am quite sure that they will be alright. Don't worry, Twilight.” Rarity hugged the bookworm.
”Yeah! I mean, Discord has his super awesome chaos cotton-candy making magic, and Shining can make a cool shield which nopony can breach! Spike has his super cool firebreath too!” To emphasize her point, Pinkie roared. It sounded impressively enough like a dragon's roar, and instead of flames, she shot a stream of confetti from her mouth. Screw logic, it's Pinkie Pie. ”Oooh! I'll have to throw them a party when they come back” She bounced out from the room, whistling a random tune.
Applejack trotted into the room with a growl while muttering something. She looked up at her friends and sighed heavily. ”Ah just got word from th' farm tha' mah brother had to leave fer something...”
Twilight's right eye twitched. ”So... Big Macintosh is gone as well..?”
”Ah guess so... What, Why? Did Ah miss somethin'? Applejack looked genuinely confused.
Twilight's eyes narrowed and her face turned into a dark red. The girls felt the temperature in the room rise by every second passed. Twilight looked almost like she was ready to explode.
And then everypony learned that it's a very bad idea to make Twilight Sparkle angry.
Shining Armor and Spike walked a bit behind Discord and Big Macintosh, who was arguing about apples. Shining rolled his eyes. ”So...” He began. ”You and Fluttershy, huh?” Shining Armor smirked as Spike stumbled. ”I have to say I'm proud of you...” He snickered.
”Um... W-well, you see, when I started growing, I became faster and stronger so I offered to help more ponies than Twilight and Rarity... Fluttershy needed help with her animals and uh, we started talking more and more...” Spike scratched his neck sheepishly.
”I thought you had a thing for Rarity..?” Shining raised an eyebrow.
”Eh, I had been chasing after her since I came to Ponyville. It took a while for me to understand that she was way out of my league, though...” Spike sighed.
”She turned you down, huh?” Shining Armor frowned.
”Brutally.” Spike nodded.
”You know, when you ladies are finished gossiping you could hurry up a bit.” Discord said over his shoulder. ”We have to keep moving, as if we stay at the same place for a long time something unpleasant will surely stumble upon us.”
The drake and the pony hurried to catch up to the others. A comfortable silence fell on the group as they continued walking. Discord started humming a tune. A sudden rustle in a brush nearby made the entire group snap at attention to the single shrubbery.
No one said anything, and after a solid minute of complete silence, a pony walked out from it. Discord couldn't believe his eyes. ”Luna..?”
A ragged dark blue alicorn stepped forward and beamed, then pounced Discord. ”I'm so glad I finally found you, Dissy!” She sighed and nuzzled into his coat. Discord scowled. That wasn't Luna...
Discord wrestled away from the supposed lunar princess and brushed himself off. His eagle talon started glowing in a faint, golden aura. He raised it, then brought it down to the cheek of the pony infront of him with an audible slap. With the magically re-inforced slap, she flew back a few feet.
The rest of the ponies and the dragon stared at Discord in complete shock mixed with horror. But before they could say anything, Discord raised his eagle talon to silence them. ”Wait for it...” He muttered.
After a few tense seconds, Luna started flickering with green flames. A slow, but steady trail of green magic passed over her entire frame, revealing the parasitic creature beneath the disguise. Long, slender legs with holes appeared and instead of a flowing star-filled mane, a sea-weed green mane which hung down her shoulders appeared. The chitin shell of the bug-pony glimmered in the sunlight as did her tattered wings.
Discord raised an eyebrow. ”Well, that was new...”
Spike lowered onto all his fours and a feral snarl escaped him.
Shining Armor took a step back. He recognized the creature, it was the same who brainwashed and used him. ”Oh hell no...”
”Ee...yu-..nope?” Big Macintosh was confused.
The changeling struggled to stand up, and glared at Discord who was mildly amused by the scene unfolding. ”How... How did you know?” She bared her fans.
Discord shrugged. ”The real Luna would have blasted me from here to Ponyville as soon as she would have seen me and she never calls me 'Dissy', unless... Unless she has some uh... suggestive things in mind...” He wrinkled his nose. ”By the way, you reek of shapeshifting magic, even when you're disguised, I can sense it.” Discord raised a his eagle talon and waggled a finger. ”One does not simply trick the Embodiment of Chaos, you know...”
”Bah!” The changeling exclaimed. ”You got lucky, you overgrown lizard!” She spat.
”I find that offensive.” Spike raised a claw. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, which set on Shining Armor who was trying his best to not be seen.
”...You!” She growled and stomped toward him. ”You were the one who defeated me and my army!” Her wings fluttered. ”Oooh, I am going to enjoy this...” An evil grin stretched over her face.
Big Macintosh decided that he had enough of the bickering, so he stepped forward between the unicorn and the changeling. ”Eeenope.” He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck and assumed position to take her down.”A gentlecolt never strikes a lady, but Ah think ye earned it this time, missy...”
Macintosh charged the dumbstruck changeling.